Regulatory authorities issue warnings about burns, punctures, food safety issues... Lacquer seals are not intended for play with | children | Lacquer

Using candles, electric heating appliances, etc. to heat and melt lacquer wax, sugar, etc., and then pressing seals into various shapes, the sales of lacquer seals on online platforms are quite impressive and popular among young people.

However, it is currently difficult to define which type of product this type of product belongs to, and there is no corresponding product standard. Many products are untraceable and have questionable quality, and there are hidden dangers such as burns, punctures to the human body, electric leakage, and misleading consumers to confuse lacquer wax with food. Especially for minors under the age of 14, one of the main consumer groups of lacquer seals, these safety risks may multiply.

The Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation today exposed a batch of fire paint seal products that have been found to have significant safety hazards through risk monitoring, and issued consumer warnings.

It could take over a minute for a burn to occur

Place the lit candle at the bottom of the candlestick, then place the napkin at the top of the candlestick. After 3 seconds, it will start to burn. In a panic, there is nothing to find to extinguish the flame.

"Easy to come into contact with open flames and get burned," said Zhang Ruohong, director of the Light Chemical Institute of the Shanghai Quality Inspection Institute. A total of 20 batches of fire paint seals were sampled for risk monitoring, from online platforms and local stationery and toy physical stores. Among them, 11 batches contain candles and candlesticks that can generate open flames, but there is no barrier in the product structure that can block children from coming into contact with open flames. Children can directly contact the fire source by reaching into the candlestick, which may cause injury; 7 batches do not even have candlesticks, which poses a risk of children coming into direct contact with open flames.

"At present, there is no exact product classification for fire paint seal products, but monitoring has found that various channels have a clear tendency to equate them with toys during promotion." Zhang Ruohong introduced that out of 20 batches of samples, 8 batches clearly stated that the products are suitable for people under the age of 14, and 15 batches of samples collected from online channels all indicated on the webpage that these products are toys.

According to international consensus, the user group of toys is minors under the age of 14, and the quality requirements for related products are higher and stricter. Unfortunately, most businesses currently describe these lacquered seals as toys, mainly for marketing and promotion purposes, to attract and mislead children with limited discernment abilities. However, they do not pay attention to product quality and safety issues, reflecting the weak social public awareness of the parties involved and insufficient understanding of protecting minors.

In monitoring, a prominent issue is the rapid increase in temperature around the heating area of the product, which poses a risk of burns.

Many lacquered seal products are equipped with metal handles for users to keep a short distance from the open flame. This seemingly safe process of melting lacquered wax is actually fraught with hidden dangers.

According to the mandatory standard "Toy Safety Part 2: Mechanical and Physical Properties" in China, the temperature rise of handles, buttons, and other parts of heat source toys that can be reached by hand should not exceed the following values: 25 ℃ for metal parts and 35 ℃ for plastic parts.

The Jiefang Daily Shangguan News reporter noticed that after just over 70 seconds, the temperature of the handle of the metal spoon with the head spoon placed on the candlelight had skyrocketed from 33 ℃ to 70.4 ℃. Another electric heating furnace in the shape of a yellow duck had started heating for more than 80 seconds, and the temperature at the junction of the heating furnace and the plastic shell had risen from 25 ℃ to 60.6 ℃, both exceeding the standard limit.

Monitoring also found that 6 batches of samples contained tweezers, stirring rods, or badges, with functional sharp tips and touchable sharp tips, but no warning instructions were provided, which may cause skin irritation when used by children.

Sharpness exceeding standard, warning light on top of measuring instrument

Can "sugar wax" really be eaten?

Some lacquered seal products also use candies instead of lacquered wax, using "sugar wax" and "edible" as selling points. However, these candies are packaged in lacquered seal "gift packages", suspected to be three no products, without accompanying labels for traceability and inspection, and the quality and food safety are questionable.

At the same time, accessories such as fire paint seals and melting spoons that come into direct contact with candy should be considered as food contact materials and products, and quality and safety should be ensured in accordance with national food safety standards. However, during the monitoring process, the three batches of so-called "edible fire paint seals" did not indicate that they belong to food contact materials and products, nor did they indicate "for food contact", "for food packaging" or similar terms, or were they printed or affixed with spoon and chopstick signs, which may lead to children accidentally eating.

Even if not ingested, there is a big question mark about whether these unexplained accessories will transfer harmful substances or dirt into the candy during use.

On online shopping platforms, some merchants claim that the lacquer seal is "edible"

"Producers should strictly organize production in accordance with laws, regulations, and standards such as the" Product Quality Law ". The product packaging should be fully and accurately labeled with the producer's name, address, product name, specifications, and execution standards, and the applicable age and relevant warnings of the product should be prominently indicated to ensure that the product meets the requirements of safeguarding human health and personal and property safety." Shi Kai, Deputy Director of the Product Supervision Department of the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau, said that for the risk monitoring results, on the one hand, the project conclusions and expert evaluation suggestions will be summarized and submitted to the National Standards Committee in collaboration with technical institutions, providing more basis for the formulation of relevant product standards; On the other hand, we will increase law enforcement efforts, strictly investigate and deal with issues such as false advertising and lack of product factory locations in some products in accordance with the law, focus on resolving and preventing market risks, and respond to people's concerns.

The Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation reminds consumers not to purchase "three no" products without product names, factory names and addresses, and inspection certificates. They should not be misled by merchants. Paint seal products have many risks and are not recommended to be used as toys for children to play independently. When purchasing, please pay attention to safety warning information, especially pay attention to whether the products contain small parts that may cause children to swallow and suffocate, as well as sharp parts that are prone to stabbing and cutting children. Do not believe in the promotion of "edible" and carefully choose paint seal products that use candy instead of wax.

The full English packaging leaves consumers confused